Some of the European Union’s proposals for the Northern Ireland Protocol would take us back, says Liz Truss, in a seeming attempt to pave the way for the United Kingdom to take unilateral action on the post-Brexit treaty.
Rejecting ideas from the bloc in October aimed at resolving issues with the protocol, the foreign minister warned on Tuesday that “the answer cannot be more checks, documents and interruptions”.
After the government used the Queen’s speech to announce that its ongoing talks with Brussels would not “stand in the way of defending peace and stability in Northern Ireland”, EU Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič replied that “renegotiation is not an option” – and called for London to coincide with Brussels’ “determination and creativity” to finalize the dispute.
But in a statement released hours later, Ms Truss said that “the current EU proposals fail to properly address the real problems affecting Northern Ireland and in some cases would take us back.
“Prices have risen, trade has been severely disrupted and people in Northern Ireland are subject to different laws and taxes than those over the Irish Sea, which has left them without executive power and a threat to peace and stability.
Ms Truss added: “Our preference has always been a negotiated solution, but we will not be ashamed to take action to stabilize the situation in Northern Ireland if no solution can be found.
Her comments came hours after former Tory Prime Minister Theresa May warned Boris Johnson to take any unilateral action on the protocol, urging him to consider “a broader sense of what such a move would say for the UK.” and his desire to abide by the treaties he has signed. “
Interfering in Ms May’s speech in the municipalities, the leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, insisted that the protocol “should be considered” and “undermines political stability in Northern Ireland”.
Pressure on the protocol peaked in the May local elections, in which the DUP took second place in Northern Ireland after the Sinn Féin nationalist party in a landmark result, with Sir Jeffrey’s Unionist Party warning Boris Johnson that he would not nominate a deputy prime minister. to form an executive branch in Stormont until “decisive action is taken on the protocol”.
Speaking to Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin this week, Mr Johnson warned that the situation was “very serious now”.
Asked after his own call to the Prime Minister whether, according to the DUP, action should be taken on the protocol “within weeks”, Sir Jeffrey said: “I do not set a time frame for this – what I say is very clear [is] these are decisive actions that we need and must be done quickly. “
But Sinn Fein Vice President Michel O’Neill said on Tuesday that the protocol was “here to stay” and called on the DUP to join the executive director in Stormont.
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